Ethereum Dev Finalizes Goerli Merger Date as ETH Merge Draws Closer

Lead Ethereum developer Tim Beiko has revealed the final details for the network’s final dress rehearsal prior to the long-awaited Merge, and the asset surged by 14%.

Ethereum Dev Confirms Final Testnet Merger Date

The Ethereum mainnet is on the verge of transitioning to a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, with only one testnet merge remaining. The years-long odyssey has reached the last stage with the announcement of the final testnet merge to the Beacon chain, following multiple shadow forks and testnet merges.

The Beacon chain was launched in December 2020, marking the start of Phase 0 of the three-phase process. The present phase, Phase 1, was supposed to be completed by 2021. However, due to several delays and incomplete work on the part of the developers, it is anticipated that it will be completed by the third week of September. The transition’s last phase is scheduled to be completed by late 2023.

Tim Beiko, a lead Ethereum developer, took to Twitter to explain the details of the Goerli testnet switch. The Goreli testnet will merge with the Beacon Chain called Prater, and the resultant Goerli/Prater network will maintain the Goreli name following the merger.

The testnet merger will take place in two phases, beginning on August 4 with the Bellatrix upgrade on the consensus layer. The Bellatrix upgrade will be activated when the epoch height hits 112260. The Ethereum’s PoS network advances in epochs rather than blocks, with each epoch consisting of up to 32 blocks.

The second phase of the upgrade will be called Paris, and it will see the execution layer shift from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). This phase is slated to be completed between August 6 and August 12. The Paris upgrade will be activated when the Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) hits 10790000. Once the execution layer reaches the threshold TTD, the following block will be generated entirely by a PoS validator.

Final Preparations Before the Move to PoS

According to the official release, the upcoming Goerli merging will differ from the early testnet integration in that node operators will need to update both their consensus layer and execution layer clients at the same time rather than only one of the two. The developer team has also attached various client releases that are compatible with the testnet merge.

The planned final testnet merge will solely affect node operators and testnet participants; Ether (ETH) holders and stakers will not need to make any modifications. The testnet merge will serve as the final test run before the Ethereum mainnet formally merges with the Beacon chain on September 19. However, the Merge date may change based on the outcome of the Goerli test net.

The Ethereum network’s PoS transition is expected to be the most significant upgrade to the blockchain network since its inception. The upgrade focuses on enhancing scalability through sharding and lowering high transaction costs. However, the majority of the scalability features are projected to be integrated after the last phase of the transition is completed, which is expected in the second half of 2023.

Ethereum’s value increased by more than 10% in the last 24 hours, reaching an intraday high of $1667 before falling to $1631 as of press time, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The latest price hike runs counter to some analysts’ predictions that an interest rate hike would hurt the crypto industry.

The value of multiple digital assets has surged, with the industry’s market worth increasing by about 7% in the last 24 hours. ETH has been one of the strongest performing currencies in recent weeks. In the last two weeks, its value has increased by more than 45%.